Implementing the communication for development strategy to improve knowledge and coverage of measles vaccination in western Chinese immunization programs: a before-and-after evaluation

Research ArticleImplementing the communication for development strategy to improve knowledge and coverage of measles vaccination in western Chinese immunization programs: a before-and-after evaluation
Communication for Development (C4D) is a strategy promoted by the United Nations Children’s Fund to foster positive and measurable changes at the individual, family, community, social, and policy levels of society. In western China, C4D activities have previously been conducted as part of province-level immunization programs. In this study, we evaluated the association of C4D with changes in parental knowledge of immunization services, measles disease, and measles vaccine, and changes in their children’s measles vaccine coverage…C4D is associated with increased caregiver knowledge about measles, increased willingness to seek immunization services for their children, and increased measles vaccination coverage. Tailored communication strategies based on insights gained from these analyses may be able to increase vaccination coverage in hard-to-reach areas. C4D should be considered for larger scale implementation in China.
Ming Lu, Yao-Zhu Chu, Wen-Zhou Yu, Robert Scherpbier, Yu-Qing Zhou, Xu Zhu, Qi-Ru Su, Meng-Juan Duan, Xuan Zhang, Fu-Qiang Cui, Hua-Qing Wang, Yi-Biao Zhou and Qing-Wu Jiang
Published on: 24 April 2017